DIY: The Easy Way to Update Outdoor Furniture

I am on a mission to get the outdoor area fixed up. After being here two and a half years I think it's time.

Today I worked on the outdoor patio furniture. We've actually had this furniture for about 4 1/2 years. It's so comfy and I love it. But after years of rain and wear and tear the cushions have become dingy and dirty. I tried washing and scrubbing but it didn't get out the stains.

I looked into purchasing some cushions. I was looking at about $40.00 for new cushions for two chairs. So I thought to spray paint them....and at only $3.67 you can't go wrong with this option!

Sidebar: I spray paint everything and this project is the first one where I've had a hard time getting the spray paint right. If you plan on doing this, use several thin coats to try to get the paint even

So anyway, here is the chair before

You can actually see the water stain on the fabric. It was pretty plain too.

Here it is afterwards



And there you have it, a simple update. I bought some pillows to add some color to the chairs.

Spray Paint: Navajo White. Pillows: At Home (Formerly Garden Ridge). Chair: Big Lots

So what do you think? Have you ever used spray paint on fabric??

MAKING MORE SPACE IN THE FRONT YARD

When I say we have been working on this forever.. I mean forever! We get all pumped up to get something done, we get it halfway done and then stop. We have been talking about fixing up the front yard forever. We started on this last summer and I think now I can say we are making REAL progress.

The first thing we tackled was the small yard space. We live in a somewhat new neighborhood outside of Atlanta....and a somewhat new neighborhoods means nice size house, tiny yards and being able to touch your neighbors' window. I wanted more yard space for my daughter to run around in, so that's what we started on...and we were able to accomplish that!

Our yard was a HUGE bush.. literally. Just bushes. Here's the view of the bushes on the top of yard near the street before we got to work.

Here's the same view after we finished. We can now actually see the front door now. Also, the little one has a little more room now to run around. I think it looks sooooo much better now.

So how did we make more space?? We simply took up some bushes and laid down some sod.

Here's the full view of the yard before

Do you see that little strip of grass and those millions of bushes?!

And here is after:

I LOVE IT!

We still have a lot of work to do on the grass, mailbox area, and patio. Now to work on those bushes by the front patio! Yes more bushes!

See the photos below to see the progress of before and after.

How have you created more space in your yard??

We are making progress! [Back Deck RENO]

Wow where has the time gone! It's been a while! Although I haven't been busy with the blog I (mainly Brandon) has been busy working on the back deck.  If you remember in my previous post about my deck I talked about some plans we had for the deck. Unfortunately, we didn't have everything ready in time for Memorial Day as we hoped, but that didn't stop our party.

We have got a couple of things done over the past two months..Brandon pressure washed the deck. See the difference!

It's looking so much better already! [Back Deck Reno]

We are not wasting any time getting the back deck fixed up. I want to be ready for Memorial Day Weekend to have my friends and family over. I'm picturing food, drinks, spades & dominoes. A nice comfy outdoor set, nice rug, and some shade.. sounds so relaxing! ...but until all this happens I have to get my head out the clouds and get to work.

We got that big, ugly, bug & animal infested, view obstructing bush taken down! What a difference already! (...and why did we what over a year to do this again?!?) 

Beautiful View!...Ugly Deck [Back Deck Reno Begins]

I love waking up every morning to the view of our lake. The bedroom windows faces the lake and it is really a pretty sight. Here's the view in the Spring/Summer.

But when it comes to sitting outside.... that's another story. The view is beautiful but the surroundings, in particular our back deck, is ugly! Horrible really!! 

Well Springtime is here and Brandon is in Man-beast mode (as he calls it) and has started tackling the outside of the house... first up.. The back deck!

So here's a look at the before...